- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Belgium · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
An unnamed telecom provider – Court Ruling (Belgium, 2025)
Privacy enforcement record
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A Belgian court reduced a telecom provider's fine from €100,000 to €5,000 for failing to respond to a customer's data access request on time. The court found the original fine too harsh given the circumstances. This case illustrates the importance of timely responses to customer requests.
What happened
A telecom provider delayed responding to a customer's access request under GDPR, leading to a fine that was later reduced by the court.
Who was affected
A customer who filed a complaint after their telecom provider took 14 months to respond to their access request.
What the authority found
The Court of Appeal of Brussels ruled that the original fine was disproportionate and reduced it to €5,000, considering the isolated nature of the incident and the lack of harm to the customer.
Why this matters
This case highlights the need for companies to respond promptly to customer data requests. It also shows that courts may consider the context of violations when determining penalties.
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Linked-source text retrieved.
Review needed — 19 March 2026.
Processing notes: amount discrepancy, authority corrected.
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A customer (the data subject) filed a complaint against their telecom provider (the controller) after it failed to respond to their access request under Article 15 GDPR. The controller eventually responded to the request 14 months later, when the complaint was already pending. The Belgian DPA fined the controller €100,000 for violating Article 15 GDPR. The controller challenged the fine before the Belgian Court of Appeals. The Court reformed the DPAs decision and reduced the amount of the fine to €5,000. The Court found that the original €100,000 fine was disproportionate for a number of reasons: * the infraction was an isolated incident, affected a single data subject, and did not involve special categories of data; * the controller had no history of violating the GDPR; * the infraction caused no damage to the data subject but only mere inconvenience: * the infraction was not intentional; * the controller collaborated with the DPA during the investigation and implemented better procedures for handling access requests after the complaint was filed.
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for An unnamed telecom provider in BE
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. An unnamed telecom provider - Belgium (2025). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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